In local old motors circles, the name Ciappara immediately conjures up the image of Pawlu l-Melbourne, a name synonymous with all the various aspects of the classic car scene. However, very few are aware that his brother, Laurence, known as Lorry, was bitten by the classic car bug earlier than him. For the quiet, low-profile and unassuming Lorry acquired his first old car back in 1975, when he bought a Fiat Topolino.

“My father Salvu told me I was crazy to get such a model, built in 1955, and that I was wasting my time,” Lorry said.

This car has a long story, with Lorry working on it at intervals over the years; at a time he gave up and had even offered it for free to his brother-in-law, unsuccessfully.

Over the years, as the appreciation of the Topolino soar­ed, Ciappara got various offers to sell it. But once his son, Stephen, became intrinsically involved in old cars, Ciappara decided to hold on to it. “Believe it or not, after all these long years, this Italian icon is still a works-in-progress case,” he admitted.

A long time elapsed before Ciappara look­ed at another classic car. About 20 years ago, he got a call from his brother Pawlu, who was in England and had come across two Austin Healy vehicles.

“I bought one of them, not in a very good condition, unfortunately, as it was being cannibalised. The engine was in a mess, the cylinder head had been removed, there was no distributor – the list was tall. However, I got all the missing parts, and now the vehicle is in an advanced state of restoration.” Ciappara said the final product will be sprayed in old English white, with matching red upholstery.

His busy business in the car repair and spraying sector left Ciappara very little time to complete restoration projects. Another beauty from the past demanding attention is a 1965 black Sunbeam. So at times he quenches his classic car appetite by acquiring an old vehicle in good condition – like the 1969 red body and black coloured roof Morris Cooper.

“I had always dreamt of getting a Mini Cooper; however, they were very scarce on the ground, and actually I had given up hope of acquiring one. So much so that as a substitute, I bought a 1961 Mini. As soon as I got it, the Cooper turned up.”

Pride of place in Ciappara’s classic car collection goes to a 1973 MGB, painted in the unusual and attractive citron yellow colour.

“It was in a good, roadworthy condition when I bought it in 2007, with only a small mudguard task to be undertaken.

“However, as happens so often, when I started to work on it, one thing led to another, and I ended up with a full restoration project on my hands that took nearly four years to complete – not that I regret it,” he said.

Writing in the UK Club official magazine, Jon Pressnell from the UK MG Owners Club, who in September 2012 came to Malta to judge MG vehicles taking part in a concourse d’elegance organised by the Old Motors Club, said that points were awarded to the participants for presentation and originality.

“In the end it was a tight-fought quarter that emerged at the top of the pack... headed by Ciappara’s flawless vehicle,” Pressnell wrote.

Ciappara has three children, but only one, Stephen, has inherited his father’s devotion to old vehicles, as well as his technical skills and dexterity.

“This development took a long time coming, for experiencing the heavy demands of my work, I was determined to keep my two sons and daughter as far away from the business as possible,” he said.

“I wanted them to do something completely different from my line of work. So much so that even during the lengthy summer holidays, I would prohibit them from approaching the workshops.”

Stephen was attracted to catering and even worked for a couple of years in one of the island’s leading hotels. However, he started to entertain doubts about his choice of career.

“I started to realise how awkward my working hours were, and that while my friends were free and having fun, I had to be in at work,” he said. Subsequently, he asked his mother to act as intermediary with his father, and eventually joined the family business.

Stephen was not allergic to old cars and had always fostered a soft spot for the Morris marque. In fact, while 18 and still an ITS student, he bought his first car, a black 1958 Morris 1000. “It was not in a bad condition, but eventually I started to dismantle it, and did quite a lot of restoring to it, far away from the critical eyes of my father, who initially did not approve much of my purchase.”

Eventually, Ciappara went to see what his son was doing and was pleasantly surprised and astonished at what Stephen had accomplished technically in an area that was not his line of study and work.

The Morris mania continued unabated. Stephen then got two Morris Traveller cars, dating from 1957 and 1972, in order to restore them into one complete car. An advert in a Sunday paper also led him to a 1961 Morris van.

“I saw the ad in the morning, phoned, and found the van was in Gozo. I made an appointment for the afternoon, went there with my father, and came back driving the Morris!”

The vehicle had a blue body with light blue mudguards, but Stephen intends to change it to the original Post Office red colour – he leaves no stone unturned to research the original colour of his old cars in order to bring them back to what they looked like when they emerged brand new from the factory.

Influenced by his uncle Paul, Stephen bought a 1965 red Sunbeam, which is still awaiting a future restoration project for, as he describes it, it resembles more of a shell at the moment.

Other purchases include a 1965, wood-panelled, sandy beige Mini Traveller Countryman in good condition, but requiring attention. Similarly, a 1965 Austin Healy was bought as roadworthy and not needing much work, but as so often happens, there was more than meets the eye once repairs on an old vehicle begin in earnest.

In contrast, a 1990 John Cooper, also known as a Rover Special Product, was bought by Stephen in mint condition. Although still a few years away from becoming a classic, the vehicle is dear to him as he states that the red body, red roof model is one of a limited edition of 1600.

While father and son enjoy participating in OMC events, they intentionally limit their attendance, as both are of the opinion that after working on cars full-time during the week, they need some other form of outlet as relaxation.

Ciappara and his son have another pastime that is also very dear to their hearts – breeding coloured canaries.

Both say that birds make a bigger demand than old cars on their time, as they need daily attention.

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